


Fire Charms Made for Dancing

by Lotrepiphany



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Cute, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Grimm needs you to help him with a dance, M/M, One Shot, Other, POV Second Person, Romance, have fun my dudes, then ya do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:47:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24397531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lotrepiphany/pseuds/Lotrepiphany
Summary: Grimm needs help with a part of the ritual you haven't heard of before, a dance that requires a fire charm. All the while he pesters you with an annoying new nickname he gave himself.
Relationships: Grimm (Hollow Knight)/Reader, Grimm/Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 81





	Fire Charms Made for Dancing

“You have finally arrived, my dear. I have something I wish to share with you.” Grimm is standing before you, his arms up over your head holding open the curtains to the room behind him. “You want to show me something… in your bedroom? I don’t think that is appropriate, master.” You respond. 

“Ah ah ah!!! I’ve told you before, what should you refer to me as?” He teases, pulling you into the room as you aren’t coming in yourself. 

“Sir I- aah! Do I really have to say it? You don’t make anyone else in the troupe say it…”

“Yes. Now, what do you refer to me as, my little follower?”

“My Lord of Nightmares, Lord of Fire, and King of All That Burns.” You sigh, crossing your arms at this foolish nickname. 

“There we are! Was that really so hard to say?” He pulls you over to a lounge couch and sits, patting the spot next to him. You follow, not that you had a choice, and sit next to him. “How long am I going to have to call you that?” 

“Oh, until I hear you murmur it in your sleep as you dream about me. I know you do.” He winks, a hint of smugness in his voice.

“WHAT?? Sir, I do not- ugh.” You start trying to defend yourself, but it is no use, as being the Lord of Nightmares he is able to read your dreams. If there is anything you dream about, he knows it. 

“Sir? Don’t you mean something else?~” 

“MY LORD OF NIGHTMARES, LORD OF F-” You start, rather annoyed, saying the full name but are cut off by his roaring laughter. “What did you even want to show me, Lord of Fire, and King of All That Burns?”

“Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Wait here, my dear.” Grimm gets up, leaving the room through a curtain. It takes a moment, but he returns, holding something small. A charm, it looks like. Whatever it is, it’s faintly glowing. He sits next to you once again, handing it to you. Yep, a charm of some sort.

“What is this, master? It looks like a charm, but it's warm…” You look up at Grimm, and are met with a smug, pompous grin. “You said master again, my dear.” Grimm sneered.

You just glare. You are not saying that long annoying name again.

Grimm chuckles, but lets it slide this time. “You are correct, it is a charm. One specific to the Grimm troupe. Equip it, please.” You obey, putting it alongside your other equipped charms. Everything feels warm now, especially your hands. “Whoa, this feels weird… what kind of charm is this?” you ask. 

“This is a sort of fire charm. You will be granted powers similar to mine, but not as strong as mine, of course.” 

You hold up your hand and try, and sure enough, a small flame sparks into your palm. “Whoa… that’s so cool! What is this for?” 

Grimm sits next to you, admiring the flame in your hand. “We must perform a fiery dance tonight, while the moon is full. As part of the ritual, every Grimm must perform this once in their life to ensure the strength of their successor. The child, however, will not be present. The dance must be performed in private to ensure its purity. And I, er, haven't quite done mine yet...” 

Grimm seems put off by this, like it is something embarrassing not to have done yet, and refuses to make eye contact. 

“Oh?” you start, “I haven't heard of that part of the ritual before… Maybe I should ask Brumm about it.”

“Oh, my dear, that won't be necessary. We are going to start momentarily, there will be no time for stories.” He gets up again, ushering you to follow. 

You do, and he leads you to the stage that branches off of his room, stopping once you both are right in the middle. The stage illuminates, hundreds of flames from the chandeliers and lanterns dancing across the walls. Grimm bows, offering you his hand. 

“Wait, now? Right now? I just got the charm, i don't even know how to use these powers yet-” you start. 

“Hush, my dear. You will just have to trust me. Please, take my hand, and let our dance begin.”

Slowly you reach forward, doing as he asks. Fire sparks as your hands meet, Grimm’s fire trailing up your arm as your fire trails up his. He pulls you forward, the surprise nearly making you fall into him. 

“Nervous?” he asks.

“Um, yeah. A little.” 

He chuckles, slow music starting somewhere in the background. It's hard to identify just where it’s coming from, as if it's coming from multiple places at once. It's slow and hypnotic, but sets a good pace for a dance. 

After setting his other hand on your waist Grimm steps back, gently pulling you along, starting the dance. He keeps a steady rhythm with the music, leading the dance into a slow waltz. As the dance goes on, flames start swirling around you both, from your powers and his. You assume this is part of the ritual and try not to look, focused on keeping the dance going and not messing up.

Grimm, however, is watching the flames swirl around you both, a goofy smile plastered across his face. He looks at you, still grinning like a fool. 

“Sir? Why are you looking at me like that? Shouldn't we focus on the dance?” you ask, concerned that he isn't taking this seriously. 

“Oh, please, my dear. Have a little fun with it!” he cheers. He twirls you around, ending the motion with a dip. He leans in close, eyes half lidded, nearly making your heart jump out of your chest. 

“Also, you called me Sir again!~” 

Before you can groan in annoyance, he pulls you back up, twirling you once more before continuing the dance once again. It’s almost as if he is being annoying on purpose… 

As you get used to the dance, he starts getting more complicated with it, throwing in more twirls and adding his own little flair to the mix, causing the flames around you both to grow. The whole stage is filled with swirling flame, and suddenly you start to feel very light, like you were being carried. Looking down, you can see that you are standing on flame, standing several feet off the ground. Panicking, you stumble, falling into Grimm.

“Oh, are you alright?” he asks in surprise. 

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect to be this high off the ground when I looked down.”

“Well don’t look down then, dear.”

The flames slowly die down, setting you both on the ground once again. If there is no dance, there is nothing to produce flame. You panic further, thinking you ruined it. 

Your panic is interrupted, however, by Grimm laughing. “Why are you laughing? Don’t you need these flames for this part of the ritual?” 

“Oh, my dear, I apologize. I lied, there is no such dance needed in the ritual. I just wanted to dance with you.”

You stare at him for a moment, the realization hitting you. Of course there was no fire dance, that’s why nobody ever mentioned it before! “Then why didn’t you just ask me? You could have just asked without pretending it was part of the ritual!” you exclaim, irritated.

“But where’s the fun in that? This way is MUCH more dramatic.” He continues laughing, clearly amused at the situation.

You stand there staring at him in disbelief. What a little… ugh. So he IS annoying on purpose. But wait, what about the charm? 

You pull out the charm, looking it over. As if on cue, Grimm leans over, looking at it as well.

“What is the charm then?” you ask

“Well,” Grimm starts, “I wanted the dance to be… special. So I made this charm. Made the dance much prettier, didn't it? Really set the scene.” He gestures to the stage around you both. “And, if I may add,” he leans in, “you looked absolutely dazzling in the light of those flames.”

Your face goes red at that last line. Wait. Was Grimm flirting with you? Is that allowed? 

“Would you like to continue the dance, even if it isn't for the ritual?” Grimm asks.

You think for a moment. Well, the dance was pretty fun, and the fire was rather pretty, so… it won’t hurt to keep dancing, you decide. “We can keep going, but just for a little bit.” 

Grimm grins. He offers his hand once again, and the dance continues. 

“By the way, are you just avoiding calling me by name now? That long name too much of a mouthful for ya?” 

“UGH if you make me say it one more time I’m leaving.”

Grimm chuckles, staying quiet after that. Mostly. 

You dance for the rest of the night, enjoying both the fiery dance, and each other's company. It only lasts a few hours, though, as you had to retire for the night. 

After reaching your own tent and settling into bed, you let the memories of the evening play through your mind. 

The dance WAS fun, you'll admit, especially with how the flames swirled around and lit up the stage. And Grimm wasn't the only one enjoying the effects of the flames…

You thought he looked nice in the fire’s glow as well.


End file.
